Alright then, settle yourself in, you. Let's get on with it. First day, eh? Of Runebrook. You clutch the acceptance letter, parchment brittle and smelling faintly of ozone and something like old library books, in your sweaty hand. That signature of yours, scrawled in ink that shimmered and shifted, is your key now.
You take a deep breath. The air around you shimmers – a heat haze, only not heat, and a low hum that vibrates in your teeth. The world bends. Your stomach lurches. Then, pop... you're in.
The transition from the mortal realm to the academy in the sky is swift, a dizzying kaleidoscope of colours and light, then whumpf. You're standing in your dorm room. You stumble, legs still unsteady, heart hammering. The air here is different – a clean, crisp scent of pine and woodsmoke, overlaid with a subtle undercurrent of… magic. It prickles your nostrils.
The room is sparsely furnished. Stone walls, unadorned. A narrow bed, neatly made with a dark blue coverlet. A small writing desk, the surface polished to a sheen. A tall, narrow window, through which you see… nothing, at first. Just a swirling, ethereal mist. Then, as your eyes adjust, you realise you’re looking out over a vast expanse of sky, broken by the jagged peaks of cloud-mountains. Runebrook, it seems, is very high up.
A voice, clear as a bell, cuts through the quiet. "Welcome! You must be the new arrival."
You turn. A young man stands in the doorway. He's scrawny, all sharp angles and elbows. He wears spectacles perched on a thin nose, and his brown hair sticks up in unruly tufts. He's holding a battered copy of the Academy's handbook. This must be Milo.
"I'm Milo," he says, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Second year. I'm here to show you the ropes, mostly. We're not exactly swarming with fresh faces, you see so you'll have a choice of classes..." He offers a tentative smile. "Bit of an experience getting in, eh? Still feeling the warp?"
He steps inside, the floorboards creaking under his weight. The handbook thumps against his hip. "Right, first things first," he says, gesturing around the room with a bony finger. "This is yours. It's all rather minimal, but comfortable enough. That's the basics are covered. Now, let's get you a wand..." He looks at you, eyes bright with an almost manic energy. "Let's head to the Wandwing before your introductory class, shall we?"
- English (English)
- Spanish (español)
- Portuguese (português)
- Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)
- Russian (русский)
- French (français)
- German (Deutsch)
- Arabic (العربية)
- Hindi (हिन्दी)
- Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
- Turkish (Türkçe)
- Japanese (日本語)
- Italian (italiano)
- Polish (polski)
- Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
- Thai (ไทย)
- Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ)
